Microsoft hits Google email privacy

Microsoft is firing the latest missive in its battle against Google, reigniting a previous line of attack that the Gmail provider doesn’t respect users’ privacy and is mining emails for advertising guidance.

The tech company is rolling out a national advertising campaign this week that takes aim at Google for scanning users’ emails and then serving contextual advertisements based on the content. The campaign touts Microsoft’s email platform, Outlook.com, as much more privacy-friendly and amounts to a big bet for the Windows-maker: As people learn more about Google’s practices, they’ll flee to Microsoft in droves.

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As evidence, the company is pointing to a self-commissioned GfK-Roper poll out Thursday that says 88 percent of adults disapprove of scanning email content for advertising purposes. About two-thirds of Americans said they didn’t know whether any major email provider used the practice, according to the survey.

“It’s kind of an ‘a-ha’ thing for us,” said Stefan Weitz, Microsoft’s senior director of online services. “We always kind of knew that people didn’t really read the terms of service necessarily and weren’t totally informed, but to see that high a number and then to see the massive blowback when people actually find out what’s going on was pretty surprising for us.”

Google has previously pushed back on a handful of privacy allegations brought by Microsoft and Microsoft-backed groups — including what it calls the “myth” that the company reads your email — and is doing so again.

"Advertising keeps Google and many of the websites and services Google offers free of charge. We work hard to make sure that ads are safe, unobtrusive and relevant,” the company said in a statement. “No humans read your email or Google account information in order to show you advertisements or related information. An automated algorithm — similar to that used for features like Priority Inbox or spam filtering — determines which ads are shown."

The new ad campaign — which extends the “ Scroogled” tagline Microsoft lobbed at Google over search bias — will include print, broadcast and digital spots. It isn’t the first time Microsoft has knocked Google on the subject: The “Gmail Man” and “Googlighting” campaigns touched on the issue. This campaign will be joined by an online petition that allows users to tell Google they don’t like the practice.